


I'll Protect You

by b0o



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Billy Hargrove Redemption, Brotherly Steve Harrington & Dustin Henderson, M/M, My First Work in This Fandom, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Period-Typical Homophobia, Protective Dustin Henderson, Soccer Mom Steve Harrington, Soft Billy Hargrove, Tags May Change, Warnings May Change, finding out
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-24
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-07-12 20:03:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19952038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/b0o/pseuds/b0o
Summary: Billy would never be apart of The Party, it didn't matter that he was dating Steve and had become slightly less of an asshole. No one trusted him, whether it was to watch their backs or with Steve Harrington's heart. However when things go south and Steve is at the center, everyone will come to see Billy in a new light.





	I'll Protect You

**Author's Note:**

> This first chapter is so much longer than I intended, hopefully its coherent. This is my first time writing for any of them, so I'll apologize in advance for any OOCness.

Billy wasn’t apart of the party and all the kids could agree on that, just because he was dating Steve and was nicer to Max didn’t mean the kids forgave him. Granted in his own way he had apologized to Max, Steve and Lucas.Not with words but with subtle actions, though not so subtly in the case of Tommy who got his face beaten in after he called Lucas a slur while Billy was in earshot. 

No one, not even Dustin knew how or when Steve and Billy stopped being enemies and became odd friends after That Night, much less when they started dating. Max figured it out first and a few months before the others, she had watched as Billy’s eyes light slightly when Steve was mentioned and her step brother stared at him for too long to be considered just friendly looking. 

Steve was the give away however, his poker face was terrible and one day she noticed that when Billy made a flirtatious comment that instead of shooting him a glare that Steve now looked away with a hidden smile. 

Billy was better at hiding it but she had spent enough time with him to recognize that his smile looked real now, not just a way for him to bare his teeth in warning or pick up some random chick for the night. 

He was still aggressive and quick to anger, of course, but it was never directed at her or the party now. The harsh comments and back talking remained consistent, but there was no venom in the words now. 

Their rooms shared a wall, so Max heard when Billy would slip out of his window into the night to go see Steve. Max never mentioned any of this to anyone, least of all Billy. She liked Steve well enough and liked this new Billy more. At times he even felt like an actual brother to her instead of the oppressive force he had been before. 

Dustin ruined that of course, it wasn’t exactly his fault that he caught the two making out behind the bleachers. He had been looking for Steve to show him his newest project when he saw his pseudo older brother pinned against the wall by Hargrove. 

It didn’t look like a fight but Dustin didn’t hesitate before ramming himself against Billy with a shriek to ‘get off’. Billy had pulled away from Steve not because the kid could actually move him, but out of hasty shock to silence whoever found out. When he saw Henderson and made of move to grab him Steve was there, placing himself between the two. 

“If you say anything about this Henderson, I’ll gut you like-” 

“I’d like to see you try!” 

“Both of you stop!” 

Steve’s ‘if you say one more thing you’re in big trouble’ tone cut through and instantly Dustin stood down, more surprising was that Billy did as well. After he was sure the two weren’t about to start back up again Steve turned to Dustin. 

“What are you doing here, Henderson? I thought you had some club that doesn’t end for another twenty minutes.” 

Steve ran a hand through disheveled hair and looked suddenly older than 18. 

“Club was boring, we aren’t doing anything in it really. So I went to find you, ‘cause your always just waiting in your car to pick us up and you always come super early just to hang out. Then I found him about to bust your face again and saved you, you’re welcome by the way.” 

Billy snorted behind Steve and Dustin turned the full power of his glare on the older boy, Steve rubbed his face and wondered how someone so smart could be so stupid at the same time. 

“We weren’t fighting.” 

Dustin reeled back confused at such a bold lie. “You can’t lie to me, you were pinned down and his hands were all over you!” 

Billy snorted louder and muttered something to the effects of ‘damn straight’, Steve almost turned around to shoot him a look but instead looked at Dustin with a sigh. 

“Dustin. We weren’t fighting.” 

Both the use of his actual name and the quite, pained way that Steve said it shut the boy down. Billy could practically see the gears turning in the boys head, if this went the way he knew it would Billy had ways of making sure the kid kept quiet. 

That wasn’t the problem though, the problem was that Steve had practically adopted the boy and if Henderson rejected him it would break something in the brunette. Dustin finally seemed to understand as a look of pure confusion washed over him, “really?” 

The judgment in the boys tone had Billy ready to smack him, Steve's reaction be damned. How dare he say that to Steve? To the man that didn’t hide how proud he was of Dustin every time the kid did anything ever. To perhaps the most selfless person Billy had ever met. He heard Steve take in a sharp breath and rage coursed through him. 

“You had to pick Billy? Out of all the guys in Hawkins you went with him?” 

This had Billy freeze and he watched as Steve did as well, “what?” 

Dustin seemed to gain momentum after his initial reaction, “yeah, he beat you up!” 

Steve’s entire posture slumped and he let out a shaky laugh, “that’s what got you?” 

The relief was palpable and Dustin finally seemed to realize why they were so on edge. 

“My uncle Mark’s gay, and Will doesn’t like girls at all so I've had time to adjust. That and we’ve seen some actually messed up shit, two guys kissing isn’t even on the radar anymore.” Steve gave a clearer laugh and ruffled the hat on Dustin’s head, earning Steve a look as the boy fixed the hat again. 

Billy had to hand it to the kid, he took in the fact Steve was sucking face with a guy in stride and got pissed about who it was with instead. He had a feeling there was a reason that Dustin was Steve’s favorite kid, but he also had a feeling the kid would blab at the first moment. 

Dustin had resumed glaring at Billy though now it was accompanied by a scrutinizing look, as if trying to see something deeper in Billy than was actually there. The glare caused Steve to turn back to Billy, they exchanged a series of looks that ended with Billy raising his eyebrows in question. 

“I’ll explain stuff to him, he won’t tell.” 

Billy examined the younger boy, he didn’t believe for a second that Dustin was capable of keeping a secret this big without cracking. Steve didn’t look positive either, most likely thinking about all the times Dustin blurted out sensitive things when he couldn’t handle it anymore. 

However Steve didn’t want Billy threatening the kid even if he knew Billy wouldn’t act on it, he still wanted the two to at least pretend to play nice. With a bit of difficulty, and the promise of quarters for the arcade, Steve was able to send Dustin to wait in the car. 

When the pair were alone once again Steve gave a half smile, “thanks for keeping cool. Dustin’s a good kid, he won’t say anything about-this.” 

Steve vaguely gestured between them and Billy crossed his arms, “just make sure it doesn’t get out. If I hear so much as a rumor about this whole thing, then I won’t hold back on the kid.” 

Assuming that Neil didn’t kill him first if the man heard about it. Steve made a face at the ground and Billy brushed his shoulder passing by, “see you round ten, pretty boy?” Billy could practically feel the smile Steve was giving to his back, one far to innocent for what they would do that later that night.  
-  
To Dustin’s credit, he made it over two weeks before accidently complaining that he just couldn’t see what Steve liked about Billy. Max was up in an instant and was looking around frantically to make sure no one but the party heard, she also made sure the others kept their loud yells of confusion down. 

Though honestly the ones making the most fuss were Mike and Lucas. Will and Eleven seemed to take the news in stride, with Will only asking a simple question. 

“Are they happy together?” 

Max answered immediately about how Billy was practically a new person, still an asshole of course but a bearable one. After a little bit of fidgeting Dustin revealed that Steve was happier to, humming to the songs and smiling brighter than he had before. 

Will nodded at this with a smile, Eleven however was a bit more confused. 

“Why are they keeping it a secret? If their happy together, then why lie?” 

Max crossed her arms, “ because Neil would flip and Steve would probably get disowned. Not to mention it would paint a huge target on their backs.” 

El frowned hard at that but Max wasn’t about to discuss homophobia to her now, maybe later when they were alone and had more time to go through it. The others fell into silence until Mike broke it, “then we keep it a secret. We’re not lying, we’re protecting them.” 

Dustin hadn’t really considered the fallout for Steve if it came out he liked men as well, but now that it was in his mind he understood Steve’s need for secrecy. “Yeah. What’s said in the basement, stays in the basement.” 

One by one they made similar pledges. While the boys, mostly Dustin, made silent vows to watch Billy carefully.

**Author's Note:**

> I have a somewhat coherent plan, but would love to know what everyone thought! I'm afraid our poor Stevie is going to go through some tough stuff. [hmu on tumblr](https://rainbowwritesthings.tumblr.com/post/186527106037/calm-before-the-storm)


End file.
